Russ Cunningham

Russ Cunningham is an urban planner with over 20 years of professional experience in California, focused on land use and mobility policy, urban design standards and guidelines, and strategies that promote sustainable and resilient development, urban forestry, active transportation, and transit access. Working primarily but not exclusively in the public sector, Russ has guided a variety of long-range planning projects including general plan updates, local coastal program updates, specific plans, climate action plans, vulnerability assessments, and school facilities needs assessments. As the City of Oceanside's representative to the San Diego Association of Governments Working Group, Russ contributed to SANDAG’s development of climate action planning resources, mobility hub prototypes, shoreline management strategies, EV charging deployment strategies, and regional population and housing forecasts. Russ also has extensive experience with infill develoment, both as a developer and development reviewer. 

Russ is proficient in form-based coding, objective design standards, and other urban design and placemaking tools aligned with evolving state policy direction and streamlined project review. From his nearly 20 years of municipal experience as a Senior Planner and Principal Planner, Russ has a  deep understanding of the political, financial, and regulatory challenges that local governments in California face in their efforts to effect and shape positive, community-driven change.  Over the past 8 years Russ has managed and directed Oceanside's ambitious, phased, General Plan Update process with a strong focus on high-quality urban design, active transportation, economic resilience, affordable housing, climate action, and agricultural preservation. He has also managed several related specific plans.  During that same time period, Sargent Town Planning has been working with cities across the State to update general plans and prepare specific plans focused in many cases on these same priorities, and we are very pleased to now have Russ on our team.